Before COVID-19 travelling was a part of my 9-5, I’m lucky that my career allows me to visit many different and diverse places around the world and South Africa was always on my bucket list, so when I got in touch with FOUR PAWS and they told me about their Big Cat Sanctuary there, I knew right away that this would be a once in a lifetime experience. 

As a fitness influencer, my daily work is to inspire my community to live a healthy lifestyle. I’m proud to have engaged and motivated followers who also care about pressing issues we face across the globe, which leads me to be able to combine not only great awareness for these issues but also to share my passion and knowledge of health and fitness with others.

I couldn’t wait to be at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary, to see all those amazing rescued animals and filming my workouts together with my crew.

Then the day came, and after a long journey, we finally arrived at our destination in South Africa! On arrival, we were warmly welcomed by the LIONSROCK staff and immediately one thing was clear to me, the rescue animals living here had so much freedom, and were able to roam in vast amounts of space and nature in a close to natural environment.

Animals everywhere! Zebras, impalas and meerkats, just to name a few. The room we stayed in was not only beautiful and comfortable but came with an extra special morning alarm – the lions roaring at the break of dawn!

It's really something special to be so close to these majestic wild animals, hear and feel their comfort and how at peace they are in this special space.

The team on site organised many exciting activities to fill our time, but for me, the sunset game drive and feeding drive, where you drive from enclosure to enclosure, was one of the highlights. 

We were able to learn about the suffering and horrible pasts these individuals had, some rescued from war zones, terrible concrete enclosures of zoos and tiny cages. When these animals arrive at LIONSROCK, they receive tailored care from wild animal caregiver experts, specialised in the care of rehabilitating traumatised captive wild animals. They even live on-site and monitor the animals around the clock, although the stories of the animals are mesmerising, and sometimes hard to hear, they are extremely important to share, and that is why I've chosen this beautiful location in my fitness videos. 

By sharing my videos, I am sharing their stories and giving you an insight into the incredible work FOUR PAWS is doing, as well as my wonderful experience at LIONSROCK. 

Check out more videos on my YouTube channel or follow me on Instagram.